In a forested area near one of the villages in Sheptytskyi district, a dog was found hanged. Law enforcement officers have opened criminal proceedings on the grounds of cruel treatment of an animal.
As a 44-year-old local resident reported to the police on 17 June, the body of a dog had been found in the forest near the settlement, hanged from a tree by a rope.
Investigators, criminal police operatives and forensic experts of Police Station No. 2 of the Sheptytskyi District Police Department worked at the scene. Preliminary findings indicate that the animal was hanged by the neighbour of the owner, a 54-year-old resident of Sheptytskyi district, who wrapped a rope around the dog’s neck, causing its death.
Under the procedural guidance of the Sheptytskyi District Prosecutor’s Office, investigators have opened criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (cruel treatment of animals). The article provides for a penalty of restriction of liberty for a term of one to three years or imprisonment for a term of two to three years, with confiscation of the animal.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement officers are establishing all the circumstances of the incident.